Ransomware is malicious software designed to block access to a computer system or a part thereof until a “ransom”, typically a monetary sum, is provided by the owner or user of the computer. Ransomware has been steadily increasing as a threat to safe computing. One of the most common types of ransomware entails the encryption of some, or all, of the files on computer system, where a ransom is demanded in exchange for a decryption key to decrypt the files.
The level of encryption typically used by ransomware generally precludes decryption of the affected files on a victim's computer system without possession of the encryption key. Accordingly, anti-ransomware strategy tends to focus on prevention, i.e., denying initial access to the targeted computer system, and recovery, i.e., restoring/replacing the files that have been encrypted.